In a recent case, a claimant was dismissed on the grounds of his misconduct because he persistently made multiple informal grievances, he was unwilling to progress the grievances formally or drop them, and he refused to attend meetings including the grievance meetings.
The EAT recently upheld the tribunal’s decision that the claimant was fairly dismissed without any formal warnings. The employer had carried out a reasonable investigation and disciplinary procedure, and it was within the band of reasonable responses for the employer to treat the claimant’s conduct as a sufficient reason for dismissal.
The fairness of the dismissal for misconduct was dependent on whether the employer acted reasonably in treating the conduct as a sufficient reason for dismissal. The fairness of the dismissal did not depend on the employer labelling the conduct as “gross misconduct”.
